Bottle labeling machine



Dec. 15,1936. w. s. GRIFFITH 2,064,108

BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet 1' iicz z Jrzaz-rz' for: raid. GzflzX/z De c. 15, 1936. w. s. GRIFFITH BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 fiazzzlvrv a): 6717x075 Dec. 15, 1936. w, a R F H I 2,064,108

BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed April 25, 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 2220672 for: Wea

Patented Dec. 15, 1936 IIUNITED STATES 2,064,108 BOTTLE LABELmGMAonmE Winfred S. Griflith, Worcester, Massg'assignor Pneumatic Scale Corporation, Limited,

Quincy, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application April 25, 1934, Serial No. 722,344

Claims.

The present invention relates to bottle labeling machines, and has for its object to provide an improved machine of that type which is characterized by its simplicity of construction and reliability of operation.

Briefly stated, the machine of the present invention distinguishes from labeling machines heretofore constructed by its provision of a novel label positioning and attaching mechanism that insures the application of labels to bottles in a uniform manner. Furthermore, the several motions employed for feeding, positioning and attaching the labels to bottles are generally straight line motions, so that operation and maintenance of the machine is greatly simplified. The above and other advantageous features of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a bottle labeling machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale of the cam shaft of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 44 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view along the line 55 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing, on an enlarged scale, the feeding of a label to a bottle.

Fig. 7 illustrates the positioning of a label on a bottle.

Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the operation of the label attaching wipers.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring to the drawings, the machine comprises a base I on which a cam shaft 2 is rotatably supported in bearings 3, the shaft 2 being driven by gearing 3 from a cross shaft 5. The shaft 5 extends beyond one side frame member 6 of the machine and carries a pulley I, as shown in Fig. 2. The pulley l is driven through a belt 8 from a suitable source of power, shown herein as a motor 9 mounted on a top frame member IU of the machine, the motor 9 serving to drive a pulley I I around which the belt 8 passes through suitable reduction gearing [2, see Fig. 1.

The machine base I also carries a work support l3 mounted at the top of an upwardly extending pedestal l4 and a bottle I5 is shown as being mounted on the support I 3 for operation upon by the label applying instrumentalities hereinafter described. As best shown in Fig. 2, the work support, I3 is located midway between the side frame members 6 of the mflGh llt Mi a supply of labels I6 is supported above and vertically in line with the bottle l5 by means of a bracket ll carrying fingers l8. The fingers l8 are suitably adjustable for supporting diiferent sizes of labels, and are so formed as to permit the lowermost label l6 of the stack to be withdrawn separately by the action of a picking mechanism, which will next be described.

The picking mechanism consists of a pair of horizontally extending pickers l9 disposed on opposite sides of the bottle support l3, each picker being carried by an arm 20 extending rear wardly andconnected at its end to a slide 2|. As best shown in Fig.1, the picker slides 2! are movable on vertical rails 22, the slides being connected'together at their lower ends by a cross member 23. As best shown in Fig. 3, the cross member 23 carries a roll 24 bearing on the surface of a cam 25'mounted on the shaft 2 and the cam '25 is so designed that rotation of the shaft 2 imparts an up and down movement to the slides 2| carrying the pickers IS. A dwell on the cam 25 serves to arrest upwardmovement of the pickerstoward the stack of labels It for the purpose of gumming the same preparatory to removal of a label'from the stack.

Adhesive is adapted to be applied to the pickers l9 by means of a gummingroll'26, best shown in Fig. 2 as being mounted on'ashaft 21 rotatably supported between slides 28. The slides 28 are movable on parallel horizontal rails 29 extending rearwardly beneath the upper frame member 10, and the slides 28 are connected by a cross member 30, As best'shown in Fig. 1, the gumming roll slides 28 are adapted to be moved back and forth by means of a lever 3| pivoted at 32, with its upper end; connected to cross member 30 by means of a pin=33 received in a 'slot 34. The lower end of lever 3| carries a roll 35 bearing on a cam 36 mounted on the cross shaft 5. Rotation of the shaft 5, therefore, imparts a reciprocatorymovement to the gumming roll 26 through the slides 28, so as to cause it to receive adhesive from a suitable supply and apply it to the surfaces of the pickers l9.

A suitable supply of liquid adhesive is contained in a trough 31 removably mounted on rods 31w below frame member ID, and as best shown in'Fig. 5, a roll 38 rotatably mounted in the trough 3! is-driven by means of aichain 39 engaging a sprocket wheel 40 on one end of the roll shaftwhich extends beyond the trough 31. The

chain 39 passes around an idler 39a and extends downwardly around a second sprocket 4| mounted on the cross shaft 5, so that the roll 38 rotates continuously in the trough 3! while the machine is running. When the slides 28 carrying the gumming roll 26 are moved to the left as viewed in, Fig. 5 by theoperation of the cam 36, the periphgly 9; P112 roll 26 is brought into engagement with the periphery of the trough roll 38, as indicated in dotted lines. As this engagement occurs, a pinion 42 mounted on one end of the gumming roll shaft 21 engages a gear 43 mounted on the shaft of the trough roll 38, so that engagement of the gumming roll 26 with the trough the roll 26. This insures uniformdistribution of the adhesive over the entire periphery of the roll 26 prior to its engagement with the pickers l9. 1

As previously pointed out, the cam 25 controlling up and down movement of ,the' picker slides 2| provides a dwell, and the cam 25 is so timed with respect to the gumming roll cam 36 that the pickers I19 come to rest in line with the bottom .of the gumming roll 26 when the latter is in en agement with the trough roll 38, as "indicated in dotted lines Fig. 5. Therefore, when the gumming roll 26 moves to the right as viewed in Fig. 5, its periphery passes over the upper faces of the pickers Hi to apply a uniform coating of adhesive thereto. As soon as the gumming roll 26 moves over the entire length of the pickers l9, it immediately returns to the dotted line position of Fig. 5 in engagement withthe trough roll, in which it is entirely ciear .of the pickers. The pickers l9 thereupon complete their upward movement to engage the lowermost label IS in the stack, so that when the pickers 19 start their downward movement, the adhesion of the'label to the pickers causes the lowermost label to be removed from the stack. The pickers I9, with a label supported between them, then move downwardly to the lowermost position shown in Fig. 2, with the label held close to the upper surface of the bottle 15 on the work support IS. The label 16 is now ready for, application tothe surface of the bottle by means of a gripper mechanism which will next be described. 7 p K As best shown in Figs. 1 and 6., .a gripper 44 composed of yielding frictional material, such as rubber, extends between the pickers I9 above the label I-B supportedthereon, the gripper 44 being moved to this position only after the pickers 19 have carried a label to a point just above the bottle l5. Prior to this time, the gripper 44 has occupied a retracted position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, in which it is entirely out of the way of the movement of a label by the pickers l9. As best shown in Fig. 3, the gripper is carried by an arm 45 pivotal-1y connected at its .lower end to a carriage 46 that is vertically movable on ways 41 provided by the picker slides 2|. The carriage 46 has mounted thereona roll- 48 bearing on the surface of a cam 49'mounted on the shaft 2, so that as the shaft 2 rotates, the cam 49 imparts an up and down movement to the gripper arm, which movement is accompanied by turning of the arm 45 about its pivot45a on the carriage 46. i

To this end, the arm :45 is pivotally connected by means ofa link 50 to one end of a floating lever 5 l the other end of which is connected by a link 52 to a fixed pivot '53. The lever 5| is pivotally connected intermediate its ends to a'link 54 that is in turn pivotally mounted on a slide 55 carrying a roll 56 bearing on the surface of a cam 51 on the shaft 2'. The cams 49 and 51 are so designed as to impart a compound motion to they gripper arm 45, which as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 3, insures that the gripper 44 will be withdrawn from the path of movement of the pickers I9 when the latter are moving downwardly with a blank supported therebetween.

When the pickers l9 come to rest with a label 48 supported therebetween just above a bottle 15, the gripper '44 is moved from its retracted position to a position in which the gripper extends roll 38 is accompanied by rotative movement or substantially parallel to the surface of the bottle. At this point, angular movement of the gripper arm 45 ceases, and the cam 49 alone acts per, in a substantially straight line, from the position of Fig. 6 to the position of Fig. '7. As the gripper 44 so moves, it engages the label l6 mid- Way between the pickers l9 and carries it downwardly into, engagement with the surface of the bottle 45. As this movement occurs, the pickers l9, start to move upwardly to be regummed by the roll 26, but as indicated in Fig. 7, stripping of the label from the pickers l9 does not occur .until after the label has been firmly clamped on the bottle 15 zby the gripper 44. The action of the gripper 44 in moving downwardly in a straight line to engage a label l5, freely supported between the pickers i9, insures that the label cannot thereafter shift axially of the bottle when subsequently stripped from the pickers l9 and then operated upon by the wiping mechanism next to be described.

As best shownih Figs. 2 and 8, .a pair of wipers 58 composedof flexible material, such as rubber, are each carried by an arm 59 mounted on a pivot 60 carried by a slide 5|. The slide 6| is disposed in front of the picker slides 2|, and is movable on vertical ways .62, as best shown in Fig. 1. The wiper arms 5.9 extend beyond their pivots 68 and are conneetedat their extremities by links 63 to a common operating pin 64 located between the pivots -6.0. As best shown in Fig. 3, the pin 64 is carried by an auxiliary slide 65 movable vertically on the main wiper slide 6|, the auxiliary slide 65 carrying a roll 66 held in engagement with a cam Blon shaft 2 by means of .a spring 68. The main slide 6|, in turn, carries a roll 69 bearing on a .cam 1-8 on shaft and the cams 61 and ID are .so designed as to impart vertical movement to both slides BI and 65 for operating the wipers 58. Referring now to Fig.8, it will be seen that when the gripper 44 positions a label It on the bottle I5,

the wipers 58 occupy a position in which they are disposed entirely outside of the zone of movement of the label. Following this, the main slide 6| moves upwardly, and as this movement is accompanied-by relative downward movement of the pin 64 on the auxiliary slide 55, the wipers are moved bothupwardly and towards each other, as indicated by their dotted line position in Fig. 8.

Following this movement, the main slide 6| moves downwardly, thereby causing the wipers 58 to engage the extended portions of the label 16, as

held on the bottle by the gripper 44, and wrap the igummed areas on the under sides of the label ments of the pickers l9, gripper 44 and the wipers 58 are so related that a label is positioned above .a bottle and subsequently applied thereto for each complete cycle of operations. Beginning with the parts occupying the position of Fig. 6, it is apparent that certain elements operate coincidentally to the end that the time elapsed after the removal of a label from the stack until its application on the bottle is reduced to a minimum. Thus, while the gripper 44 is holding a gummed label in position on the bottle for operation upon by the wipers 58, the pickers 19 are moved upwardly to receive an application of adhesive from the gumming roll 26, followed by continued upward movement of the pickers to engage the lowermost label in the stack. Therefore, the wipers 58 have completed the application of a gummed label to the bottle, and the gripper 44 has been retracted tothe dotted line position of Fig. 3 by the time the pickers l9 carrying a gummed label therebetween are starting their downward movement to position the label above the bottle l5.

In order to provide for the removal of a bottle with a label applied thereto while the parts are at rest, the pulley I has associated therewith a onerevolution clutch H of suitable construction, which is under the control of an operating lever l2, see Fig. 2. The clutch H is so arranged that the cam shaft 2 will come to rest after each complete revolution thereof, with the parts occupying the position of Figs. 1 and 6,-that is to say, with a gummed label it; supported by the pickers l9 just above the work support I3. As the parts come to rest, the operator removes the bottle with a label attached by the preceding cycle of operations, and substitutes therefor an unlabeled bottle. Therefore when the clutch lever 12 is again operated, the label attaching operation begins from the point shown in Fig. 6 and is carried through to completion in the manner described, simultaneously with the gumming of the pickers and their engagement with the stack of labels to remove a fresh label therefrom. In other words, the machine is double acting to the extent that the label removed from the stack in one operating cycle is applied to the bottle in the next succeeding operating cycle, during which time a fresh label is gummed and picked in preparation for the next succeeding cycle.

In order to permit the ready removal and replenishment of the adhesive trough 31, provision is made for lifting the bracket l1 carrying the stack of labels !6. To this end, a lever 13 mounted on a fixed pivot I4 provides a curved slot 15 for receiving a roll 16 mounted on a carriage 71 supporting the bracket I! by a rod 18. When the lever '13 is turned upwardly about the pivot 14, the roll l6 riding in the slot 15 lifts the carriage T! and with it the stack of labels, so as to permit ready access to the adhesive trough 31. Normally, the lever 13 is in a substantially horizontal position, in which the stack of labels is held in position for engagement of the lowermost label by the pickers l9.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention there is provided a bottle labeling machine that is extremely effective and reliable in operation. Due to the positioning of each gummed label on a bottle by the gripper 44 while still supported by the pickers l9 and prior to the operation of the wipers 58, successive labels are accurately placed on the bottles. Therefore, bottles labeled by the machine present an absolutely uniform appearance, with each label occupying the same relative position on the bottle. Furthermore, the machine is particularly characterized by the utilization of straight line motions for actuating its essential elements, with the driving mechanism located entirely clear of the work support, so that should a bottle be broken accidentally during operation of the machine, its contents will not get into the mechanism.

I claim: v

I. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a work support and a stationary label magazine above said support and in vertical alinement therewith, of label pickers movable in a straight line between the magazine and the support to remove a label from said magazine and position it above a bottle on said support, and a gumming element having a complete reciprocatory movement for applying adhesive to said pickers during a dwell in their travel toward said magazine.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a work support and a stationary label magazine above said support and in vertical alinement therewith, of label pickers movable in a straight line between the magazine and the support to remove a label from said magazine and position it above a bottle on said support, means for arresting travel of said pickers toward said magazine, and a gummingelement having a complete reciprocatory movement for applying adhesive to said pickers while in their arrested position, followed by resumption of the travel of the gummed pickers to engage the lowermost label in said magazine.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a work support, a label magazine, and means for removing a label from the magazine and positioning it on a bottle carried by said support with adhesive applied thereto, of a pair of wipers pivotally mounted on a slide vertically movable with respect to said work support, and a second slide movable on the first slide for imparting an angular movement to said wipers coincidentally with their straight line movement with the first slide, whereby said wipers are clear of the label on their upward movement and engage the ends of the label on their downward movement with said first-named slide.

4. In a machine of the class described, the

combination with a work support and a stationary label magazine above said support and in vertical alinement therewith, of label pickers movable in a straight line between the magazine and the support, means for arresting travel of said pickers toward said magazine, a reciprocatory gummer, means for imparting a complete forward and backward movement to said gummer for applying adhesive to said pickers while in their arrested position, and means for resuming travel of the gummed pickers to' engage the lowermost label in said magazine, followed by removal of the engaged label as said picker moves toward said work support.

5. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a work support, a label magazine, and means for removing the label from the magazine and positioning it on a bottle carried by said support with adhesive applied thereto, of a vertically movable slide, a pair of wipers pivotally mounted on said slide, a second slide carried by said first slide and pivotally connected to said wipers, and means for imparting reciprocatory movement to both of said slides to cause said wipers when positioned above a label to move toward said label and apply it to the bottle as the first slide moves downwardly.

WINFRED S. GRIFFITH. 

